Vermont's regular deer season begins Saturday — and lasts until Nov. 26. Hunters can take one buck during rifle season — as long as they didn't get one during archery season.
David Sausville is a program manager at the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
"It's a traditional activity that's been going on for decades, has a very good track record for safety over the last several decades. Many more hunters are also wearing hunter orange now. And we encourage that because it just increases visibility for each other," Sausville says.
All deer killed during the season must be reported at a big game reporting station.
"People are required to bring in their harvested animals and we collect weights, antler measurements, we remove teeth to get an age on the animal," Sausville says.
Sausville says that information helps wildlife biologists understand the health of Vermont's deer population.
Moose season wraps up
As deer hunting season begins, moose hunting season comes to a close.
Vermont’s moose hunting season wrapped up last month.
Hunters took 78 moose in Essex County — where about a thousand of the animals live.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife issued more permits this year than usual, in an effort to limit the spread of winter ticks and keep the moose in Vermont healthy.
Ticks often kill calves, and weaken adults. They pose a bigger threat than they once used to because Vermont is seeing shorter winters with less snow.
State biologists have said that even with more hunting, it will take six or seven years to get the moose population down to their target.
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